Joachim Chuah and Xin Ying Yee advanced to the main draw of the Egyptian Open squash championships, the first Diamond event of the season, defeating fellow Malaysians in their final qualification matches.
Yasshmita Jadishkumar, who was beaten by Ying Yee in the women’s qualifier, also advanced as a lucky loser.
Two Egyptian winners opened the day as Ruqayya Salem and Nour Khafagy booked their spots in the main draw. Salem wasted no time in her pursuit of the main draw, beating Menna Walid 11-9, 11-4, 11-7 in 30 minutes. Khafagy advanced in contrasting style, coming through a tough five-set clash with India’s Tanvi Khanna. Salem now faces Malaysia’s Rachel Arnold whilst Khafagy takes on Hana Ramadan.
Two men’s matches followed, with Malaysia’s Joachim Chuah and Ibrahim Elkabbani advancing. At least one Malaysian was guaranteed to be progressing from the qualification in the men’s draw as Chuah’s opponent was compatriot Sanjay Jeeva. After losing the opener 14-12,
Chuah took control of the tie. Winning the next three games 11-5, 11-0, 11-4. Elkabanni was also up against a fellow countryman in the form of Marwan Assal, brother of World No.1 and tournament top seed, Mostafa. The pair battled out for 96 minutes, with qualty squash, referee decisions and injury breaks all featuring, but it was Elkabanni who ran away with the match in the fifth game to secure the victory.
Chuah will play Swiss Rocket Nicolas Mueller in round one whilst Elkabanni will play Juan Vargas.
The final female qualifiers were decided next as Xin Ying Yee and Habiba Hani upset the seedings to progress to the main draw. Yee defeated fellow Malaysian Yasshmita Jadishkumar in a very tight four-game clash. All games resulted in 11-9 scorelines with Yee holding tough in three of them to advance.
Hani faced qualification top seed Lauren Baltayan. In what was shaping up to be a quality clash, the score reached 11-10 in game three but after falling after a collision in the front left corner, Baltayan wasn’t able to continue, sending Hani through. Yee will play Lucy Turmel, whilst Hani will play Zeina Mickawy.
The final matches of the day saw two more Egyptians advance on home soil. Yassin Shohdy downed compatriot Mohamed Gohar in a straight game contest whilst Seif Refaay ended the run of France’s Edwin Clain in a 71-minute four game encounter. Shohdy will now play Kareem ElTorkey and Refaay will take on France’s Auguste Dussourd.
Due to the withdrawals of Olivia Weaver and Melissa Alves, two Lucky Loser spots were available in the women’s draw. They were randomly allocated to Yasshmita Jadishkumar and Tanvi Khanna. Jadishkumar faces Mariam Metwally and Khanna plays Sana Ibrahim.
One lucky loser spot is available in the men’s draw after Ramit Tandon’s withdrawal. That spot was allocated to Marwan Assal, who now faces France’s Baptiste Masotti in round one.
RESULTS
Results
Men:
Joachim Chuah (MAS) bt Sanjay Jeeva (MAS) 3-1: 12-14, 11-5, 11-0, 11-4 (54m)
Ibrahim Elkabbani (EGY) bt Marwan Assal (EGY) 3-2: 16-14, 11-4, 7-11, 9-11, 11-3 (96m)
Yassin Shohdy (EGY) bt Mohamed Gohar (EGY) 3-0: 11-7, 11-8, 11-6 (45m)
Seif Refaay (EGY) bt Edwin Clain (FRA) 3-1: 11-6, 6-11, 11-4, 11-7 (71m)
Women
Ruqayya Salem (EGY) bt Menna Walid (EGY) 3-0: 11-9, 11-4, 11-7 (30m)
Nour Khafagy (EGY) bt Tanvi Khanna (IND) 3-2: 11-9, 5-11, 12-10, 9-11, 11-4 (63m)
Xin Ying Yee (MAS) bt Yasshmita Jadishkumar (MAS) 3-1: 11-9, 11-9, 9-11, 11-9 (46m)
Habiba Hani (EGY) bt Lauren Baltayan (FRA) 3-1: 7-11, 11-6, 11-10 ret. (60m)
